Crime & Justice

Kim Pham Beating: Judge postpones jury selection (Update)

Vanesa Tapia Zavala (L) and Candace Marie Brito at their preliminary hearing in the West Justice Center February 11, 2014 in Westminster, California. The two are charged in the beating death of Kim Pham in front of a Santa Ana nightclub.
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One of many messages left at a makeshift memorial for Kim Pham in January 2014, near The Crosby nightclub in downtown Santa Ana.
Ed Joyce/KPCC
One of many personal messages at a makeshift memorial for Kim Pham in January 2014 in downtown Santa Ana.
Ed Joyce/KPCC

Jury selection was to have begun Monday in the case of two women charged in the beating of Kim Pham.

Following a meeting in chambers with defense attorneys and prosecutors, Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals postponed the start date for the trial until Friday.

Candace Brito, 27, and Vanesa Zavala, 25, have been charged with murder and intent to commit great bodily harm in connection with Pham's death.

The 23-year-old Pham was beaten unconscious during a January 18 altercation outside a nightclub in Santa Ana. She died a couple days later.

Brito and Zavala remain in jail in lieu of one million dollars bail.

5:30 a.m.: Trial set to start for two women accused of murder

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday morning in Santa Ana for two women charged with the murder in the beating of Kim Pham.

Vanesa Zavala, 25, and Candace Brito, 27, both from Santa Ana face trial on charges of murder and assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury. They also face a sentencing enhancement of inflicting great bodily harm. If the women are convicted, the enhancement means the judge can impose a longer prison sentence.

Both have pleaded not guilty and remain jailed in lieu of $1 million bail. They each face a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison if found guilty.

Kim Pham, 23, of Westminster, was assaulted just after midnight on January 18, outside The Crosby nightclub in downtown Santa Ana. She was declared dead two days after the incident when life support was removed. The Orange County Coroner's Office said Pham died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Santa Ana police say Zavala and Brito were among a group of five people leaving the nightclub when the altercation occurred between them and Pham’s group, who'd been waiting to enter the club.

The prosecution case against Zavala and Brito revolves largely around cellphone video taken outside The Crosby nightclub in Santa Ana, where the defendants are accused of beating Pham.

One video shows Pham wrestling with a woman on a sidewalk as another woman appears to kick Pham in the head. Prosecutors say the woman doing the kicking is Zavala. Other footage appears to show Brito kicking Pham as well before Brito is knocked to the ground by another woman. Immediately after the kick, Pham goes limp and the clip ends with her friends lifting her by her arms as they try to carry her away.